It's important you set up your Android vWork mobile app so that it works in a way that fits with the jobs you do and your work environment. You can adjust the default settings in the vWork mobile app Settings menu.
π Note: Some vWork settings for the mobile app are set in your business's vWork account by the vWork Administrator. These relate to the types of tasks you have permission to perform in the app. You can't change these settings in the mobile app.
Open the Settings screen
You open the Settings menu from the main menu - found in the red banner on the Jobs screen.
To open the settings:
- In the Jobs screen, tap
to open the main menu.
- Tap Settings to open the Settings screen.
Settings categories
The vWork Android app settings are grouped into five categories:
In this article, we explain how to get the most from the Location Tracking settings. You can read about the other setting categories by clicking the topic links above.
In this article
There are three vWork settings that belong to the 'Location Tracking' settings. We explain these and what they do in the vWork app. You may want to customize some of the 'Location Tracking' settings to meet your individual needs. These settings should always be considered alongside your Android device settings. We also provide information on when your location is tracked.
Topics in this article include:
- When is my location tracked in vWork?
- All Location Tracking settings
- Location Tracking
- Accuracy
- Operating hours
- Enable location tracking in the Android device settings
When is my location tracked in vWork?
- vWork only tracks your location when you are logged in to the vWork app and the time is within the Operating Hours you have set in your vWork mobile app settings.
- Even when the vWork app 'Location Tracking' settings are set to Always you cannot be tracked outside your set operating hours when you are logged out of the vWork app. See the topics later in this article about Location tracking and Operating hours for more information.
All Location Tracking settings
When you tap Location Tracking from the Settings screen in the Android mobile app it opens the Location Tracking screen.
This is where you can adjust the default location tracking options for the vWork app.
π Note: There are many different factors involved in location tracking. If you want more in-depth information about how location tracking works in vWork please take a look at the article, How does location tracking work in vWork?
Location tracking
'Location Tracking' is enabled in the Android vWork mobile app by default (it has a checkmark in the checkbox).
β Caution: To make sure 'Location Tracking' works, please also enable location tracking for vWork in your Android device settings. This ensures your dispatcher and customers receive location based notifications and also that other aspects of the app run smoothly. See the topic, Enable location tracking in the Android device settings, later in this article for simple steps to check and change your Android device settings for location tracking.
Accuracy
Accuracy determines how accurate the location data shared with us is relative to the actual physical location of the device. A good location is accurate to within a few meters, a poor location may only be accurate to within 1 to 2 kilometers.
The Accuracy setting gives you three options to select from. The options are:
- Automatic - this switches the source of your Android device location data between GPS when your device is plugged in and charging, and Cellular when it is unplugged and running on battery alone. Automatic is the default setting. We recommend the Automatic setting to optimize accuracy and battery performance.
- Best Accuracy - this gives the best accuracy but can deplete the device's battery faster than if it was set to 'Automatic' or 'Battery Saving'. It is usually accurate to within a few meters and uses GPS data, where available, for location information. We recommend you use this if your location is crucial to your business. If you are using best accuracy, please ensure your phone is plugged into a car charger or charging cradle as much as possible throughout the day.
- Battery Saving - This mostly uses the cellular network location, but will sometimes use GPS when cellular is not available. It is not as accurate as 'Best Accuracy' but usually provides accuracy within 50 meters of the device's actual location when in a populated area. It is the best option for longer battery life.
π‘ Tip: You can learn more about location tracking and GPS in vWork in the article, How does location tracking work in vWork?
Operating hours
Operating hours determine the days and hours that your location is tracked when you are logged into the vWork app. Your Android device is not tracked outside the working hours that you set in your 'Operating Hours' settings if you are logged out of the vWork app.
You can choose to have your location tracked every day or set days of the week, and All Day or between set hours.
Set operating hours
Operating hours are set to 'All Day', seven days a week as the default. To set your operating hours so they are different from this:
- Tap Operating Hours from the 'Location Tracking' screen to open the 'Operating Hours' settings.
- To set specific times of the day that you want your location tracked:
- Tap All Day to remove the checkmark from the checkbox and disable this setting.
- Tap Start Time and use the clock to select your chosen start time for your operating hours. This is applied to all days that you select.
- Tap End Time and use the clock to select your chosen end time for your operating hours. This is applied to all days that you select.
- To set specific days that your location is tracked:
- In the Operating days section tap to remove the checkmark from the days that you don't want your location tracked.
- You can add a checkmark and select a day that your location will be tracked by tapping a day that doesn't have a checkmark in the checkbox.
In this example, we have removed the checkmarks from Saturday and Sunday as we don't want our location tracked on the weekend.
Enable location tracking in the Android device settings
π Note: Each Android device is different. Your device may follow slightly different steps than those given here.
To enable location tracking for vWork in your Android device settings:
- Open your device Settings.
- Find the Android settings for vWork. You can either:
- Tap in the settings Search, and enter vWork to find the Android settings for vWork, or
- Scroll to find the Apps menu then select vWork from the list of apps.
This example shows searching for the vWork settings on a Samsung device.
- In the vWork settings, scroll to the vWork App settings/permissions and tap Permissions to open the vWork app 'Permissions' screen.
- In the vWork 'Permissions' screen tap Location to open the 'Location' permissions for vWork.
- Tap Allow all the time (recommended) or Allow only while using the app to select your preferred option. We also recommend you allow the app to use your precise location.
π‘ Tip: If the Camera Permission and Notifications aren't enabled for vWork it is a good idea to also enable these while you are in the Android device settings. The Camera permission allows you to capture photos for proof of delivery and condition when you complete fields in a job on the mobile app. You may also want to enable the Photos and Videos app permission if you will use photos or images already saved on your device in a job. Notification permssions allow you to receive notifications from vWork. The notifications that you recieve depend on the settings you select in the 'Notifciation' settings in vWork.